USDA: Illinois Corn, Soybean Harvests Slog Along
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says corn and soybean harvests in Illinois are limping along.
The USDA says in its weekly crop progress update Monday that three weeks of wet conditions across much of Illinois have left the ground saturated. The agency says that has limited efforts to bring in the crops from the fields.
The department says Illinois' corn harvest is 43 percent complete. That's down 20 percentage points from the average over the previous five years.
About 37 percent of the soybean crop has been brought in, well short of the five-year average of 66 percent.
Still, the USDA says 83 percent of the corn crop is rated as good to excellent. Slightly more than three-quarters of the soybean crop is classified in those two categories.